


i'll be with you from dusk till dawn.

by iloveyousweetbean



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, DJWifi, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Nightmares, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 07:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20131522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveyousweetbean/pseuds/iloveyousweetbean
Summary: Alya feels like she's going crazy and there's one person who understands what she's going through and he's determined to help her.





	i'll be with you from dusk till dawn.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ultranimallover33](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultranimallover33/gifts).

> Happy late birthday! I'm so sorry this wasn't sooner but I hope you like it! You're very sweet and I wanted to do something for you, so I wrote you a fic that was beta read by the kind [@mari-cheres 💕](https://mari-cheres.tumblr.com/). I hope you had a fantastic birthday <3

* * *

The nightmares weren’t supposed to be there.

They came in flashes, jarred her awake and she didn’t know how to talk about them, afraid she’ll sound ridiculous.

There were times when she wanted to talk about it with Marinette, but  Marinette never felt the cold sensation of evil seeping into her body, of the akuma taking host inside of her. Marinette had never experienced the pain, the burning feel of a hundred fires flickering, that occurred when an akuma first touched someone."

Alya kept quiet instead and grew quieter, pretends like nothing’s wrong, and goes about her days like she’s completely fine. 

She’s still there for Marinette when Marinette needs her, but every time Marinette tries to ask what’s wrong, Alya always pulls away, making excuse after excuse on why she has to go. She can feel the weight of Marinette’s eyes on her and she wants to talk after, but there’s a lot that’s preventing her from opening up that side of her.

Alya doesn’t want to be reminded of how her eagerness to find out who her favorite superhero was got her akumatized. She has to deal with the guilt that comes in waves every time she records for the Ladyblog. 

Ladybug reassured her more than once that it wasn’t her fault after Alya continuously kept apologizing after every interview. 

But it  _ was  _ said that there weren’t supposed to be any memories of the event.

So why is she still getting them? She wakes up in cold sweats in the middle of the night and she tries her hardest to block them out. But the flashes of her fighting Ladybug, turning into something she wasn’t, linger and it takes a couple of hours before she can manage to fall back asleep. 

Alya sometimes passes by a store and she expects to see a reflection, but all she sees is the akumatized version of herself, Lady Wifi.

It shakes her to her core, and she begins to avoid windows and tries her best to not spend any more time than she has to in front of the mirror in the mornings. It’s beginning to slowly break her.

* * *

Nino noticed it right away before they even started dating, when she first started acting strange, but once they began dating, he noticed it even more. 

He noticed the way she covered her face slightly every time they passed by a window, or even the way she refused to look at a puddle, as if she’s avoiding her reflection.

He knows because he used to do the same thing after he got akumatized for a while. 

He can’t imagine what it’s like for her, being Ladybug’s top fan and reporter of the blog she dedicated to Ladybug. But what he  _ can  _ imagine is the pain she must be going through, dealing with the aftermath of being akumatized.

Because no one tells you what comes after you’ve been akumatized.

* * *

After a long school day, when they’re supposed to be taking care of Alya’s younger sisters, Nino allows her younger sisters play the dancing game while he pulls Alya aside and tries to begin a chat with her.

“Alya,” Nino started, nervous, not knowing how to bring it up properly, “I’ve noticed you’ve been kind of off lately. And I’m worried about you.”

“What do you mean? I’m perfectly fine.” Alya attempted to wave him off, but Nino shook his head and reached for her hands.

“Alya, I know you and I love you. I love you and I don’t want you to bottle things up.” Nino held her hands close to his chest, near his heart and his eyes softened. “You’re hurting and I can see it.”

“C-can we talk about this later?” Alya’s gaze fell to their shoes and Nino felt a bit of relief that she wouldn’t be holding everything in. Seeing the way her lip quivers, he just wants to embrace her. 

But the way her feet pointed towards her sisters, he knew that the conversation was over for the moment and they had to get back to babysitting.

She didn’t speak to him or even so much as glance at him until her older sister, Nora, came home later that afternoon. She did, however, keep their fingers intertwined the whole time they were still babysitting her younger sisters. And judging by the way her lips pulled upwards at the corner just a little bit, he could see that she found comfort in holding hands.

* * *

“I’m going to take a walk with Nino.” Alya called out to her older sister, but her sister was at the door before Alya and Nino were, not allowing them out.

“He can go, but you stay, little sis.” Nora held up her hand to prevent Alya from walking out and Alya pushed it aside.

“I’m going. I’m not little anymore, Nora!” Alya shouted and grabbed Nino by the hand, pulling him along with her outside.

“She doesn’t seem to like me.” Nino pulled his sleeve down as much as he could and Alya finally let go of his arm once they were a good distance from her house.

“She doesn’t really like anyone outside of our family, so don’t take it to heart.” Alya rolled her eyes and giggled, and Nino smiled, seeing her at least a tiny bit happy.

“Nice to know family dinners aren’t going to be filled with her giving me a death look.” Nino leaned forward and tried to embrace her, but she dodged him, smirking as she straightened up.

“Not so fast, Lahiffe.” Alya held her hands up and kicked her feet up in the air. “You can’t tickle me if you can’t catch me.”

Nino took it as a challenge and he chased after her. Soon, they were standing in the park, with the sun setting in front of them.

“Alright, alright!” Alya’s laughter filled his ears and Nino placed his hands on her cheeks, cupping her face. 

He could see her eyes up close, shining as she gazed up at him.

“Something’s wrong.” Nino whispered, and pressed her forehead against hers, wrapping his arms around her. “You’re aching, Alya.”

“It’s...weird,” Alya said, voice muffled, “I haven’t talked about it with anyone, but all it’s been doing these past few months is tearing me up inside. Marinette’s asked, too, but I don’t want to add to all the stress she already has, you know, with being an aspiring fashion designer, working with Jagged Stone, and being the class rep.”

“I know it’s about being akumatized, Alya. All the little things you do to avoid your reflection are things I used to do before I had a talk with Ladybug myself.” Nino paused for a minute, letting the silence stretch while he gathered his thoughts. 

“And there are nightmares that go along with it. But you’re scared to say anything about it out of fear that people will think you’re crazy because everyone around you repeats what the news says. After you’ve been akumatized, there should be no recollection of the akumatization. There shouldn’t be any nightmares. But the fact is, there is and you wake up, thinking something is wrong with you, something is broken. You shouldn’t be having those nightmares and you shouldn’t have any memory of the event. Or that’s what people who haven’t been akumatized tell you. Because you and I both know that’s wrong, isn’t it, Alya?”

He felt his shirt getting wetter by the second and Alya was clutching parts of his shirt in her hands, trembling with each sob that escaped her lips. He rubbed small circles onto her back and he held her tighter against him, comforting her as best as he could.

“It hurts...so much.” Alya gasped, and he pulled back from her to caress her face in his hands. “I can barely...sleep. I’ve just been so  _ exhausted _ . I feel like I’m going crazy.”

“And you’re not.” Nino reassures her, wiping away her tears with his thumbs, “You’re not. I promise you’re not. I’ll help you through this, Alya.”

He just wants so badly for her to be okay, to feel okay. And he wants Hawkmoth defeated, so he can look him in the face and spit in it, for causing the girl he loves so much pain. 

“I’m so sorry, Nino.” Alya mumbles as she wipes away the remaining tears and Nino helps her, kissing the ones that escape and roll down her cheeks. 

“Don’t ever apologize for how you feel, Alya.” Nino presses a small kiss to her forehead, “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m here. And I’ll help you through everything, Alya.”

* * *

The last thing she expected to see in the Wax Museum was the part of her she tried so hard to forget.

She strayed from Nino as he inspected the wax statue of Roger Cop, and quietly walked over in front of her statue...well, her akumatized form. 

It had been months since she first told Nino and since then, he’d been helping her overcome her fears and pain of her nightmares. Memories were rushing through her head as she stared into the glass eyes of the wax figure. Lady Wifi.  _ Her _ . She was frowning and the guilt began to come back.

She heard Nino’s footsteps behind her but she doesn’t turn to him until he begins to talk.

“Excuse me, Lady Wifi, what is your superpower again? Making me fall deeply in love?”

“ I don’t need superpowers for that.” Alya giggled and for a moment, forgot about the awful feeling in her chest. “ I know we are not ourselves when we are akumatized, but it’s weird to see us like that...as super villains.”

She held herself, before Nino spoke up again, “That’s because you’re not looking at it in the right angle! These are not supervillains! They are all people that Chat Noir and Ladybug have saved.”

It made her feel better, and she turned her head slightly, stepping forward to look closer at her statue, “You’re right.”

Nino joined her, by her side and she leaned back into him, a relieved smile on her face. She opened her eyes when she felt his fingers running up and down her stomach and a laugh burst out of her mouth.

“What are you doing?”

“I am akumatized! I am The Tickler!”

“No, not the tickling!” Alya cried out playfully, “ Help, Ladybug and Chat Noir!”

Alya knows that even with everything that has happened, Nino will always be there for her, helping her through all the bad days and enjoying the good days with her. As he chases after her, she can’t help but yell out “I love you” before she dodged out of sight to hide. 

* * *

**Fifteen Years Later**

* * *

“Yes, Hawkmoth. I’ll bring the truth to light and no one will ever doubt my word again.”

The mirror in front of her glitches and she feels like she’s being torn apart. She sinks her nails into the sides of her head and screams at the top of her lungs. Lady Wifi is taking over and Alya is just a puppet. Alya is about to break the mirror in front of her, when she feels something shake her.

“Alya.” Nino’s voice cries out for her and Alya’s eyes open and she realizes it’s not real, it’s another nightmare. She can’t breathe. She feels like she’s suffocating and she realizes she has been thrashing around again, but Nino’s holding her, keeping her from falling off the bed and hurting herself in the process.

“I’m so sorry, Nino. I didn’t mean to.” Alya whispers, covering her face behind her hands and holding back the cry at the back of her throat. “Even with therapy, it’s been hard with the nightmares.”

“It’s not an overnight thing, Alya. It takes time to recover and heal and we only started going a couple months ago, babe.” Nino brushed her hair back from her forehead and leans down, pressing and keeping his lips against her forehead. “I promised you we’d get through this together and I’m here, Alya. You’re shaking like a leaf.”

She was, and she hadn’t even noticed. She knows their kids are sleeping next door and they know of Hawkmoth and how he scarred his victims. They know their parents were akumatized, but they also knew it had took more a toll on their mother than their father, but their father helped their mother carry the weight.

“Tell me the story of our wedding.” Alya requests, and Nino obliges, a grin spreading across his face.

“You were standing there, radiant as the sun, and I remember thinking to myself, as you were walking down the aisle...how did I end up so lucky? All our friends and family were there...but all I saw was you. And as you got closer, I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, only thinking of the worst. What if you didn’t like me anymore? What if you didn’t want to marry me?”

“And when you smiled at me, I knew it was just me overthinking things again and when we said our vows to one another, I remembered everything we’ve been through and all the bad and good moments. All those tiny moments shaped our relationship, and I kissed you, instead of saying ‘I do.’”

“I remember that. But I also remember this.” Alya pulls him in gently, leading his lips to hers and through their tears of laughter and sorrow, they kissed. Nino wrapped his arms around her tighter, holding onto her like he was holding onto dear life. She was his whole life and he knew they still had a long way to go, but he’d always be there with her every step of the way.

* * *


End file.
